Modding NVIDIA VGA BIOS for VX2S, G1S, G2S

Hey folks,

There has been many threads and posts asking how to modify and flash NVIDIA VGA BIOS that resides as a module in main BIOS memory.

So I decided to write a procedure how to accomplish this.
I have tested this successfully on my notebook ASUS-Lamborghini VX2S with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (w/ 512MB DDR2), so if you decide to follow this procedure, I must warm you: YOU HAVE TO DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK!

You will need the following tools:

MMTOOLS v3.12 - for extracting, replacing VBIOS module and saving modified ROM.
NiBiTOr v3.5 - for modifying VBIOS core, shader and memory clocks.

You can download all these tools with sample BIOS images for VX2S from here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/65423561/nvidia.zip.html

Once downloaded all the tools, launch the MMTOOLS first. (make sure your original BIOS image has an extension "rom" otherwise MMTOOLS won't open it, so rename it if necessary)

Click Load ROM and select your original BIOS image (in my case it was VX2SAs.209.rom"

Click on Extract tab and look at the BIOS modules below. You need to find the right module so click on every PCI Option ROM and watch the Vendor ID and DeviceID field next to Extract button. NVIDIA vendor ID is 10DE and as for my 8600M GT the Device ID was 0407 (look at screenshot below)



Once found your VBIOS module, enter a desired filename in Module file: field and click Extract button.

Now let's open NiBiTor, click File - > Open BIOS. Choose the file you just saved with MMTOOL. Once you loaded your VBIOS module look at your default 3D clocks setting (see screenshot below)



Change your 3D clock setting to values that gives you most stable performance. ( I strongly suggest to perform driver-level overclocking and comprehensive testing with 3D Mark to find out your most stable values. )
Remember, these values are for every system different. Do not proceed to the next step until you're 100% sure you have your stable clocks.

OK, so once you have your stable clocks and your GPU is not over-heating a much (temp should not go over 85* Celsius when running 3D Mark 06 in loop)
Change the Core and Memory to values you used in ATITools, then change the Shader clock to 2 * Core clock. There is no need for modification of Thrtl and 2D clock settings (see screenshot below)



Once finished editing clock speeds save the modified VBIOS module by clicking File -> Save BIOS.

Now let's go back to MMTOOL (if you've closed it reopen, and reload your original BIOS image).

Click on Replace tab and again select your VGA module (search for your VendorID and DeviceID).

Click on Browse and select your modified VGA module you just saved with NiBiTor.

Before you click Replace, MAKE SURE YOU ARE REPLACING THE RIGHT MODULE, OTHERWISE YOU WILL KILL YOUR PC TOTALLY!!!



Save your modified BIOS by clicking on Save ROM button. I suggest not to overwrite your original BIOS but "Save as" a separate rom file.

Now it's time to flash your new modified BIOS. The flashing procedure is different from vendor to vendor so I will describe flashing procedure for Asus VX2S notebook.

Put both (original and modified image) to C: root directory. Restart the PC and hit F4 during POST. Select drive C: and browse for your modified flash file. Hit Enter and confirm YES to start flashing. The flashing procedure should not take longer than minute after that your PC will turn off.

Turn your PC back on, wait until OS loads and launch ATI tools. You should see your new default clock setting (see screenshot below)



Launch 3D Mark 06 couple of times to ensure everything is fine and stable.
If your computer freezes or you see artifact, reboot, hit F4 and reflash your BIOS with the original image.

I got a quite performance boost setting my clocks to 625/475 (core running same frequency as 8700GT, however my memory is DDR2 so could not push over 475). However I got nice 3DMark06 score of 4253 so for me it was definitely worth the risk

Click here for detailed benchmark results:

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=3523785


That's all folks, wish you good luck with modding your BIOSes. Should you have any questions or run into some issues, let me know.


Best Regards,
sasovics

 

yep, you got it !! that's how i've done it and how i did for you when you pm me

EDIT - the process for phoenix bios is the allmost the same but the tool you have to use, "phoenix bios editor" it seams it's not free so i can not say where do download. For Toshiba laptops like the 200 series with the 8700 you need the phoenix bios editor VERSION 2.2

 

This might be more appropriately posted in the thread already dedicated to BIOS overclocking:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=160237

 

@adolfotregosa: heheh, actually I did not want to bother you every time new BIOS is released, or if I want to change my clock speeds so I was searching for a way how to do it by myself. I knew the NiBiTor before, all I had to find the MMTOOL. Anyway, this thread can at least offload you from BIOS mod queries, as ppl can now mod their BIOSes by themself.

@odin243: My initial idea was to post my procedure to the thread you mentioned, but after seeing how long this thread is and knowing that many people are lazy to read it trough till the end, I decided to post this as a separate thread, so it is more visible to everyone

 

hi sasovics~
i have an ASUS G1S
but the V CARD is not MXM
as i konw that VX2S uses MXM V card....

so can i use the files that you posed ?
thx!

 

MXM V? LOL
Maybe II

 

Can I copy paste your guide to my thread?(Under your name honestly )

 

Sure, go ahead!

 

G1S doesn't have MXM and its VBIOS resides as module in main BIOS image (same as VX2S). If you have G1S and you want to overclock your VGA, try driver level overclocking (drivers 167.23 and higher allow OC) or if you decide BIOS level OC, follow the above procedure.

 

I know this an ancient thread, but hopefully someone notices my question

I have the new G1Sn with an embedded VGA BIOS, and I successfully modified it and flashed my rom by following this tutorial; however, the latest nvidia driver 177.98 doesn't seem to like it, because the screen is blank/black afterwards. I did uninstall, sweep, and reinstall the latest forceware driver, but still no go (everything works in safe mode, and also using the vesa driver), so I was wondering; Do you think it's because I tried to enable a 4th profile, or is there something new I'm missing? I'm going to try again with less modifications, but any information you might have would be greatly appreciated.

I'm trying to get my fan to correlate with my GPU's (9500M GS) temps. but I think I'm just wishfully thinking that by adding some fanspeed ic settings, I will majically enable some fan control that'll compensate for the GPU's heat, when initially: Only the CPU's heat adjusts/controls the single fan's settings in this laptop. Has anyone enabled the GPU/Fan correlation option on an ASUS notebook that I'm attempting to create?

 

I'm gonna skip this one. My get 4800 3DMarks as it is without having to mod my bios so I'm happy.